There are four matches on Friday afternoon to consider, some more head-to-head matchups in Germany and England, and the search could be on for centerback and right back options. Those are among the things we are keeping an eye on this weekend in the viewing guide:
Friday
Borussia Monchengladbach v St. Pauli – 3:30p on ESPN Select: Joe Scally and Borussia Monchengladbach will host St. Pauli on Friday afternoon with Gio Reyna presumably watching from the sidelines yet again. Scally has started three straight
for Gladbach who fell to Bayern Munich 4-1 last weekend. Meanwhile James Sands and St. Pauli played to a draw with Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend with Sands coming off late in the match with an ankle injury that will reportedly require surgery and sideline him for the remainder of the season. Gio Reyna is apparently not injured at this point but has not played in the past two games though he has been available on the bench.
Olympique Marseille v Auxerre – 3:45p on beIN Sports: Tim Weah and Marseille have won two straight, moving into third place in Ligue 1. Weah has been playing heavily as a rightback and right-wingback this season, so it’s possible he could be looked at as a Sergino Dest replacement if Dest is unable to return in time for the World Cup.
Torino v Parma – 3:45p on Paramount+: Benja Cremaschi received his first Serie A start for Parma last weekend as the team played Fiorentina to a scoreless draw. This weekend Parma will travel to Torino to take on the fifteenth place side that are four back of them in the Serie A standings.
Deportivo Alaves v Villarreal – 4p on ESPN Select: Alex Freeman has not made it off the bench in the last three matches for Villarreal but could be another rightback option if Sergino Dest’s injury lingers into the summer, he will be one to keep an eye on through the rest of the 2025-26 campaign.
Saturday
Coventry City v Southampton – 8:30a on Paramount+: Haji Wright’s three match scoring streak was snapped on Wednesday as he was an unused substitute in Coventry City’s 3-0 win over Preston. Coventry are on a six match winning streak, kicked off by a 3-1 win over second place Middlesbrough in which Wright scored a hat trick, and are leading the title race my eight points with nine matches to play.
Middlesbrough v Bristol City – 8:30a on CBSSN: Aiden Morris and Middlesbrough dropped two points midweek as they lost to seventeenth place Charlton Athletic at home. The team remain in second place, a point ahead of Millwall for direct promotion as they now host twelfth place Bristol City.
Inter Milan v Atalanta – 10a on Paramount+: Yunus Musah got his first start in two months last weekend but was subbed off at the half with Atalanta down a goal. His team would go on to tie the match but things got considerably worse midweek as they were embarrassed at home 6-1 in Champions League play at the hands of Bayern Munich with Musah coming on for the final 35’ with his team already down 4-0. Musah drew a yellow card in the match and will be suspended for the return trip to Munich.
Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich – 10:30a on ESPN Select: Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen will get their shot at Bayern Munich this weekend as they host the league leaders. Tillman has seen his playing time slip recently as he has come off the bench in the last two league matches as well as in their 1-1 draw midweek with Arsenal.
Borussia Dortmund v Augsburg – 10:30a on ESPN Select: Noahkai Banks is apparently giving the USMNT the cold shoulder so he could be dropping from the viewing guide in the near future. Reports are that Banks has declined a March callup as he would like to keep his options with Germany open. Presumably this means Banks is also out of the picture for the World Cup this summer as it seems unlikely that he would change his mind over the next couple of months. Perhaps the rumors are wrong but it seems that there will be one fewer option to fill the CB hole next to Chris Richards for the World Cup. Regardless, Banks will likely be starting yet again this weekend as Augsburg visit second place Borussia Dortmund.
Hoffenheim v Wolfsburg – 10:30a on ESPN Select: Cole Campbell was an unused substitute last weekend as Hoffenheim defeated Heidenheim 4-2. This weekend his club will host Wolfsburg who fell to Hamburg last weekend 2-1 dropping them four points back of safety. Kevin Paredes has been unavailable the last couple of weeks for Wolfsburg.
Burnley v Bournemouth – 11a on USA Network: Tyler Adams and Bournemouth have drawn three straight matches since Adams returned from injury. Adams has started each of the three matches and only given up one goal during that time but they’ve also (obviously) only scored one goal. Bournemouth find themselves in ninth place as they head to 19th place Burnley who are nine points deep in the relegation zone.
Atletico Madrid v Getafe – 11:15a on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Select: Johnny Cardoso started midweek and went the full 90’ as Atletico Madrid defeated Tottenham 5-2 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 matchup. Cardoso was used as a substitute last weekend in the teams 3-2 win over Real Sociedad and could come off the bench again this weekend as a part of rotation when his team hosts ninth place Getafe.
Hamburg v Koln – 1:30p on ESPN Select: Damion Downs has appeared in three straight, including 13’ minutes off the bench last weekend for Hamburg who host Kristoffer Lund and Koln on Saturday. Lund started again for Koln last weekend as they fell 2-1 to Dortmund. Koln have just one point from their last five matches and have fallen to fourteenth place in the Bundesliga standings.
PSV v NEC – 1:45p on ESPN Select: As has already been mentioned a couple of times Sergino Dest picked up an injury last weekend and is expected to miss extended time though he has vowed to return before the season is over for PSV. While Dest is out Ricardo Pepi has returned and scored a goal last weekend in PSV’s 2-1 win over AZ Alkmar.
Atlanta United v Philadelphia Union – 3:15p on Fox: There are two MLS matches on broadcast TV on Saturday afternoon but I don’t believe the first will be showcasing any USMNT hopefuls outside of the possible exception of Cavan Sullivan who would be a 2030 option if you like to look ahead.
Udinese v Juventus – 3:45p on Paramount+: Weston McKennie and Juventus snapped a four match winless streak last weekend, defeating Pisa 4-0. Juventus had fallen to sixth place during their slide and are a point back of Roma and Como for fourth place and Champions League qualification. Remarkably, despite rumors coming into the year that he was once again on the outs, McKennie has appeared in all but one match, across all competitions this season. McKennie and Juve will visit eleventh place Udinese this weekend.
Columbus Crew v Nashville SC – 6:15p on FS1: Unlike the first match, the second network MLS match of the day has a couple of potential USMNT candidates as Max Arfsten, Patrick Schulte, and the Columbus Crew host Nashville.
Sunday
Crystal Palace v Leeds United – 10a on Peacock: Chris Richards and Brenden Aaronson will face off in EPL action this weekend as Crystal Palace host Leeds United on Sunday morning. The two teams are in the bottom half of the table with Aaronson and Leeds just three points above the relegation zone while Richards and Palace have won three of their past five but are still in thirteenth place.
Nottingham Forest v Fulham – 10a on Peacock: Antonee Robinson and Fulham will visit relegation threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday. After four straight league matches in which he didn’t appear Robinson was in the starting lineup as Fulham fell to West Ham 1-0.
Le Havre v Olympique Lyon – 12:15p on beIN Sports: Tanner Tessmann and Lyon drew with Paris FC 1-1 last weekend. Lyon are winless in their last three and have now dropped into a tie with Marseille for third place as they two teams each have 46 points with nine matches remaining.
Metz v Toulouse – 12:15p on beIN Sports: A bit further down the Ligue 1 table, Mark McKenzie and Toulouse are in twelfth place as they lost again last weekend 1-0 to Marseille. Another potential CB option for the USMNT this summer, McKenzie has started nearly every match this season for a club that is top four in number of goals allowed on the year.
Lazio v AC Milan – 3:45p on Paramount+: Christian Pulisic and AC Milan kept their playoff hopes on life support last weekend with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan to pull within seven points of the league leaders. Milan will need to go on a hot streak over the last ten matches of the season starting with their match at Lazio on Sunday.
